Sciatica Exercises - the Good and the Bad

Sciatica exercises are an important part of both short and long-term treatment, but it is critical to choose the right exercises. Even commonly-recommended exercises for sciatica may not be indicated during times of severe acute symptoms, and some exercises may only make things worse.

Suffering from sciatica can be quite irritating and it is definitely something that you don't want to allow happing. Here are a few tips that will help you get relief from your sciatic pains.

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About the Author:

Dr. George Best has been treating people with sciatica and piriformis syndrome since 1992. To receive a free ebook on Sciatica Exercises and a video information program on understanding and managing sciatica, visit his website at http://www.sciaticaselfcare.com .

I highly suggest trying it out and talking with Mike Dixon RMT. He has had over 20 years of clinical experience and he has been teaching spinal orthopaedics for over a decade. He has also written two books on spinal manipulation.

McKenzie practitioners use the word "centralization" when the pain and other symptoms are relieved in the areas the greates distance away from the spine. To give an example, in a person with sciatica all the way down the leg to the foot, centralization might occur in which the pain left the foot and lower leg and then only extended down to the knee. Or, if sciatica symptoms started out going as far as the knee, centralization would be if the symptoms left the thigh and only went as far as the hip area.

Having only 2% of his vision left due to a progressive retinal degenerative condition, Mark felt a profession based on touch and not sight would allow him to provide the best service to society. It was an important decision in Mark's life that has been justified many times over since graduating from the West Coast College of Massage Therapy in 1995. Having weakness in one sense allows the brain to provide more power to other senses, for example, touch and intention. This is a great advantage that allows Mark to function at a heightened state of awareness when treating the body. Combining this with his knowledge in human movement patterns makes for a unique and powerful massage therapy experience. For the past 7 years, Mark has also worked on a political level with our Provincial, National and International massage therapy organizations. Mark is joined by his seeing-eye dog Victor. Victor is a 3 year old Labrador/Retriever. Clients love to see the 90 pound bundle of love and joy when they come into the clinic.http://everesttherapeutics.comwww.electrahealthfloor.com

Food and sleep for relief There are types of food that you can eat that will help you to get healthy a lot faster than regular foods such as peanut butter. This is a great type of food to get a spoonful of a day; it keeps you going and helps your metabolism. Any nutritious food is good for you, especially if it has vitamins in it. Also, if you want to get to feel better fast and need Sciatica Nerve Relief, sleep will usually give you a great boost there is no better Sciatica Nerve relief giver. Sciatica just makes you very tired and makes you feel unable to exercise, which is not healthy and will not help you to get any better nor fix your nerves any time sooner.

Be active If you are suffering from sciatica then it will make you want to lie down and cause you not to be active at all. However, research has shown that if you are lying down or you're not active at all then the pain will just get worse. Push yourself to be active every day, even if it is just something like walking for 20 minutes or just stretching you muscles a bit. One of the best ways that will give you relief from your sciatic pain is with exercises and you will be amazed how much better you'll feel after doing a few exercises every day. However, be sure to know which ones to do as it could also cause you more harm if done incorrectly.

The second mistake sciatica sufferers often make is returning to normal activities too quickly once symptoms improve. The vast majority of true sciatica cases are due to bulging or herniation of one or more discs in the lumbar spine, and the inflammation that typically is associated with such disc problems. In many cases, slight improvements in inflammation can result in dramatic symptom improvement. Many sciatica victims mistakenly believe they are back to normal as soon as they feel better, but the reality is that the bulging/herniated disc is far from fully healed, and too much exertion too soon can easily trigger a recurrence of symptoms - sometimes even more severe than they were to begin with. Even professional physical therapists sometimes make the mistake of pushing a patient to do too much too soon, with the result being a return or increase in sciatica symptoms.

There are a variety of tests used to diagnose this condition. The first step is to go through a history of symptoms and activities with the client. Muscle and neurological tests are then done. An Xray, CT Scan or MRI might be needed depending on the initial findings.

True sciatica is caused from a variety of conditions: disk bulging or herniation, Degenerative Disk Disease (DDD), spinal stenosis and pregnancy. How to test for Sciatica

Symptoms of Sciatica Regardless of the type of Sciatica you have the symptoms are the same. These symptoms include but are not limited to pain in the low back, buttocks and down the back of the leg. Numbness and tingling are also common symptoms and they follow the same pathway. Weakness can develop anywhere along this pathway because there is an interruption in the sciatic nerve transmission.

About the Author:

Dr. George Best has been treating sciatica patients for over 15 years. For a free e-book on sciatica exercises and to access his informational online video series on sciatica and the treatment options for it, visit his website on sciatica self care.

Medication The medicines you take should all be prescribed to you if over the counter, if not, still ask your doctor all about the Tylenol you take. If it has to many milligrams in it or if it is too strong your doctor will let you know. When you first start seeing your new doctor you should always take your medicines with you to talk to him and let him know what you are taking. There are some medicines you may be taking that cause you to want to sleep and then there are some that will cause you to want to be lazy and when you are needing to exercise you need to be energetic and not have any involvement in medicines that will make you drowsy.

A position or exercise that results in symptom centralization is one that will be beneficial, even in situations where symptoms increase for a time in areas closer to the spine. For example, if you had sciatica and low back pain and tried one of of the McKenzie exercises and the sciatica completely went away but the back pain got worse, the exercise would still be considered beneficial and it would be recommended to continue using it. In the long run, a sciatica exercise that produces centralization will usually eventually result in improvement in all symptoms, even if more central (closer to the spine) symptoms get worse at first.

For example, while commonly recommended to people with sciatica, exercises such as hamstring stretches and the yoga position, "downward facing dog" can be beneficial as part of managing one's condition once the pain is reduced, these exercises can place tension on the sciatic nerve and aggravate an already inflamed and sensitive condition. In general, any exercise that causes pain to increase in the leg and/or extend further down the leg should be completely avoided during the acute phase of sciatica.

"Sciatol really worked for me. After 2 weeks my shooting leg pain is gone and I feel so much better. Thank you!!!" Daniel

True Sciatica responds extremely will to spinal decompression treatments. This is performed on a special table. The treatment schedule depends on your specific symptoms and cause. What needs to be done with disk bulges/herniations is that the disk material needs to be absorbed back into the disk and this requires taking the pressure off the disk. This is why spinal decompression is so effective. It is essentially traction targeted to your specific condition.

What is Sciatica? Sciatica is a medical term used to explain symptoms that develop when the Sciatic nerve is compromised. Pseudo sciatica, which is the most common, occurs when the sciatic nerve is compressed by the Piriformis (bum) muscle. True sciatica occurs when one of the sciatic nerve roots is compressed when it exits the spinal column.

During the acute phase of sciatica pain, McKenzie exercises provide one of the best and safest treatment approaches available - more effective than medication and epidural steroid injections in many people. Though often associated with spinal extension and mistakenly called the "McKenzie Extension Exercises", McKenzie method may involve any number of spinal positions/movements. The whole point of the McKenzie method is to evaluate different positions/exercises to find what best produces "centralization" of symptoms.

The simplest of the McKenzie exercises for alleviating sciatica is done by simply lying on one's stomach on the floor or a firm surface and propping one's chest up on the elbows. This places the lower spine in a gentle extension, which can help relieve sciatica by pushing bulging spinal discs forward, and away from the nerve roots that form the sciatic nerve, reducing pressure and irritation. Although you can maintain this position for relatively long periods of time, I recommend doing it for short periods of one or two minutes with a rest break of at least a few minutes in between. The frequent breaks prevent the low back muscles from tightening up as much, and yet still allows for good overall results. For more complex sciatica exercises, getting detailed instructions either through an illustrated guide or an experienced health care practitioner is advised.

The exception to the rule of considering surgery as a last resort is in the rare case of severe neurological compromise known as "cauda equina syndrome", which may be indicated by a loss of bowel and/or bladder control, sudden severe weakness in one or both legs, and/or "saddle anaesthesia" (a loss of sensation in the lower buttocks and inner thighs). Except in the rare instance of cauda equina syndrome though, it is generally better to avoid surgery if possible.

Anatomy of Sciatica The sciatic nerve is the longest and largest nerve in your body. Five sets of paired nerve roots combine to create it, and it\'s about the diameter of your middle finger. The sciatic nerve starts in your low back, which is called your lumbar spine. The nerve roots are at the L4 and L5 vertebrae (the \'L\' means lumbar, and the numbers indicate the level of the vertebra where it is in your back). The sciatic nerve also travels through your pelvic region (sacrum).

Doctor If you want to get sciatica nerve relief, then the best thing to would be to go to your doctor and ask him or her what you should do, and why aren't your exercises working. When you go to your doctor make sure to inform him or her of all the medications you have been taking or that you have taken in the past. This may have something to do with how your body responds to your treatments you are using to get your Sciatica Nerve Relief. There is no better way to find out what could possibly be causing you not to respond to your treatments than to consult with your doctor.

How to Treat Sciatica Pseudo Sciatica is easily treated?????? by massage therapy. Usually in one treatment you will notice a dramatic improvement in your symptoms. Some home care exercises are prescribed and if you follow them you should have no more symptoms.

The third mistake people, including doctors, often make regarding sciatica is to view it as a condition that can be "cured". Because most people continue to engage in the activities that caused the underlying disc problems to develop that produced sciatica in the first place, the vast majority of sciatica sufferers will experience repeated episodes, usually becoming more severe and more frequent over time. This is due to the fact that the disc issues that initially produce the sciatica tend to grow worse over time if they are not managed appropriately. Once again, it is not safe to assume that a resolution of symptoms means that the problem has gone away. In fact, what happens in many cases is that the spine and discs gradually degenerate over time, making the person more and more susceptible to sciatica episodes. Eventually, the degeneration can become so severe that there really is no effective treatment, and many people are left with chronic, debilitating pain.

Fortunately, in most cases, sciatica can be managed effectively simply through an awareness of potentially damaging activities and positions and through simple exercises one can do at home. Long-term pain and disability are avoidable, if one makes the necessary effort to perform the necessary exercise regimen on a regular schedule and to avoid movements, activities, and postions that can be damaging to the discs of the spine, such as incorrect bending and lifting, and poor posture (especially sitting posture). Long-term problems can be avoided by putting forth just a small amount of effort to manage sciatica on an ongoing basis over time.

Because of pain and a lack of understanding of their condition, sciatica sufferers may make some costly long-term mistakes when it comes to handling their problem.

In most people, the sciatic nerve runs under the Piriformis (bum) muscle, which moves your thigh side to side. From there, the sciatic nerve descends through the buttocks and the back of the thighs. Behind your knee, smaller nerves branch out from the sciatic nerve and travel down to your feet.

The first mistake is rushing into a surgery. Although the vast majority of surgeons are not anxious to perform surgery on sciatica cases, there are a few who do recommend surgical treatment right from the start, and without even attempting any other type of treatment. Sciatica resolves in approximately 80% of cases without surgery. Even when surgery is successful initially, the development of scar tissue and abnormal mechanical stresses on the spine adjacent to the surgery often lead to future problems. Given that low back spine surgery overall has about a 50% long-term success rate and people treated surgically often wind up worse than they were prior to surgery, it should be reserved as a treatment of last resort.

How is Sciatica caused? Pseudo Sciatica is caused by a tightening of the Piriformis muscle on the Sciatic nerve. The nerve passes under the Piriformis muscle and in some cases it passes right through the muscle tissue. Exercise, pregnancy, weight gain and posture can create a tight Piriformis muscle.

About the Author:

The author has helped many people to get sciatic nerve relief. Discover how you can get rid of sciatic nerve pain by visiting SciaticNervePains.com

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